Chapter III: How to Dress Flies with the Wings in the Natural Position

The generally accepted method of dressing a trout fly is to put on the wings first. This is perhaps the best plan when making an imitation of one of the Ephemeridae, but it is impossible to put the body on after the wings, if the wings are placed in the natural position in the case of any fly not belonging to this family. The hackle must also be put on before the wings, so it will be seen that putting on the wings is the last operation in dressing one of these imitations.

I have never myself used a vice in fly-dressing, and think that it is a great advantage to be able to dress a fly without using one. Any one who can dress flies well without a vice will be able to dress them even better with a vice, and will be able to dress flies at all sorts of odd times and places where a vice could not be used; while he who has never dressed flies without using one, will find that the imitations he produces are anything but neat, when he first tries to make them without his vice.

_Alder and Caddis Flies._

These flies, as I have already explained, have their wings in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Give a few turns of the tying silk round the shank of the hook, beginning near the eye and leaving enough room to put on the hackle and wings. Carry it down the shank in the Alder, going just beyond the bend, and in the Caddis-flies generally stopping well short of it, so that the body may be perfectly straight.

The material for the body and the tinsel, if used, should now be tied in. I find it best to tie the tinsel in first, not straight out from the hook, but diagonally, as, if put on in this way it lies much smoother in the first turn than if tied in quite straight.

If the body is to be made of wool or hair, the tying silk should be waxed again at the part nearest the hook for about two or three inches, and the material spun on it.

When I began fly-dressing I found this spinning on of the "dubbing" a great stumbling-block. In all the books I have read the directions on this point are simply, "Spin the 'dubbing' on the tying silk," and I had not the least idea how this should be done. As others who wish to make their own flies may also find this a difficulty, I will try to explain the method which I have found the easiest.

If Berlin wool is used, a piece should be broken off and the strands separated from each other. The strands should then be laid together and pulled into short pieces until the whole is in one mass. This should then be teazed up with the nails of the thumbs and first fingers until it is of an even consistency. A small portion of this should then be taken to make the body of each fly. This should be teazed up again, and made to taper gradually to a point at one end, and applied to the tying silk with the taper end towards the hook, as shown in Fig. 9. All "dubbing" should be teazed up and applied in this way.

The wool must now be taken between the thumb and first finger of the right hand, and twisted round the tying silk by rubbing the thumb and finger together. The "dubbing" is now spun on, and should cover from about a quarter to three-quarters of an inch of the tying silk, according to the size of the hook. It should be wound round the shank to the head, leaving a small portion of the shank bare at the head for the hackle and wings. The tinsel or wire is then wound round in a spiral to the head, tied, and the surplus cut off. The hackle should now be applied. The longest fibres of the hackle must be of the same length as the hook. Clear off the flue with the nails of the thumb and first finger, and then holding the tip of the hackle in the left draw down its fibres by pressing the hackle between the thumb and first finger of the right hand and drawing them downwards. The hackle will now appear as shown in Fig. 10. Take the tip of the hackle thus prepared between the nails of the thumb and first finger of the left hand, and the butt of the hackle in the hackle pliers, so that the back or dull surface of the hackle faces towards you. Now, holding the hackle pliers in the palm of the right hand with the third and fourth fingers, put the first and second fingers behind the hackle, and by stroking them down with the thumb make the fibres of the hackle which point upwards point down in the same direction as the lower row. The hackle will now appear as shown in Fig. 11.

Tie the point of the hackle in at the head as in Fig. 12, cut off projecting point, and wind it on with the pliers in close turns towards the head. Three or four turns will be found ample as a rule. Tie in the end with the tying silk and cut off the part which remains over. Now draw down the fibres of the hackle which project upwards, cutting off those which will not stay down. The fly should now appear as shown in Fig. 13.

The wings should be taken from corresponding quill feathers from opposite wings of the bird. These are split up the middle with scissors, and a piece from the side with the longest fibres taken. The piece of quill attached must now be cut at regular intervals, and each piece between these cuts will serve as a wing (see Fig. 15). Take two of these pieces, one from each feather, and place them together, with their concave surfaces toward each other. Place them, one on each side of the hook, with their lower margins a trifle lower than the body of the fly, tie them in at the head, cut off the projecting part with the quill, and finish off the head. The head should now be varnished, taking care to clear the eye of the hook, and the fly will appear as shown in the illustrations of imitation Alder and Caddis-flies.

There is another way of preparing wings which is much better, as it makes the ends of the wings round, though it is more difficult. This was first shown me by Mrs. Richardson of Kingston-on-Thames.

The feather is taken and the lower part of the fibres stripped off, till a part is come to suitable for making a wing. A portion of fibres sufficient for making a wing is then separated from the fibres above and bent carefully downwards. If the fibres are stroked very gently between the thumb and first finger, they will arrange themselves, so that their ends present a rounded edge instead of a point. This portion of fibres is then grasped firmly between the thumb and first finger near the quill, and detached therefrom by pulling it smartly downwards. The other wing is prepared in a similar manner from a feather of the opposite wing of the bird.

_Diptera and Perlidae._

In imitations of Diptera and Perlidae the body and hackle are put on in the same way, except that the hackle should be allowed to project sideways as well as downwards; for as the wings are horizontal in these flies, the fibres which project sideways will not interfere with the position of the wings, as they would do in the Alder and Caddis flies. The body and hackle, when put on, should therefore appear as shown in Fig. 14.

The wings of these flies are perhaps the most difficult of any to put on. To put on wings which diverge from each other as in the Blue-bottle, two portions of the quill feathers from opposite sides, prepared as described for the Alder and Caddis flies, should be laid upon each other, as shown in Fig. 16. The hook should then be taken in the left hand, and held by the bend between the first and second fingers, with the head pointing towards the right. The wings are then laid flat on the body with the right hand, and held there firmly with the left thumb. The wings are now tied in, the quill and part of the fibres attached cut off close, and the head finished off. The illustration of the imitation Blue-bottle, etc., shows its appearance when finished.

Those Diptera whose wings lie, when at rest, one over the other (as in the case of the Cow-dung), my reader will see that I have represented in my imitations, with their wings spread to a certain extent. This is because I have seen that, in the natural fly, when it falls on the water, the wings are most often in this position.

In Perlidae, whose wings lie one over the other, the wings should be put in the position they occupy in the natural fly, instead of across each other, and the fly will appear when finished like the illustration of the imitation Yellow-Sally.

The dressings which I have found most successful will be described with each fly. It will be noticed that I have put tinsel on many of the flies which have been dressed hitherto without. My reason for using it so freely is because this is the only way to produce a peculiar effect which is seen in certain flies when viewed from under the surface of the water; and as this is how they must appear to the trout, it is best to imitate this effect as nearly as possible.

The bodies of many flies are covered with short hairs. When these flies fall on the water, an air bubble adheres to these hairs, and, seen from below the surface, produce a brilliant metallic effect, with the colour of the body showing through in places. Ribbing the body of the imitation with tinsel reproduces this effect accurately.

The appearance of the natural fly on the water, when seen from below, may be observed by placing a small mirror at the bottom of a large bowl full of water. I have used one of those small round mirrors which were sent about some time ago as an advertisement for something, I forget what. If the fly be placed on the surface of the water over this mirror, its reflection will show what the fly looks like to the trout.

Another, and perhaps a better, way to observe the appearance of the fly from below the surface is to put it on the water in a large glass aquarium. It can then be observed by looking up at it through one of the sides of the aquarium.

It is better to use tinsel in dressing these flies than wire, as wire does not reproduce the metallic effect of the air bubble on the body of the natural fly.

PLATE II

ARTIFICIAL FLIES

Drawn from flies tied by Mrs. J. R. Richardson, of Kingston-on-Thames (dressed from the Author's models).

1, 2. BLUE-BOTTLE.
3, 4. GREEN-BOTTLE.
5, 6. HOUSE-FLY (slightly enlarged).
7, 8. CURSE (BLACK).
9, 10. CURSE (DUN).
11. CURSE (BADGER).
12. BLACK GNAT.
13, 14. YELLOW SALLY.
15, 16, 17. WILLOW-FLY.
18. ALDER-FLY.
19. OAK-FLY.
20, 21. COW-DUNG-FLY.
22. HAWTHORN-FLY.

Swan Electric Engraving C^o].